The Bear’s Den: January 26, 2018

BEAR DOWN, CHICAGO BEARS, BEAR DOWN!!!!

BEARRRSSSS / DRAFT / FREE AGENCY

Finley: With Senior Bowl practices over, the Bears' draft season is just beginning - Chicago Sun-Times - When the Bears left Mobile on Thursday - exactly 13 weeks before the opening night of the draft - it was clear their prep work was just beginning.

Campbell: Bears not raising season ticket prices in 2018 - Chicago Tribune - This is the third time in four years that the Bears have kept flat the cost of season ticket packages. The exception during that span was for the 2017 season.

Biggs' Bears Q&A: Could the Bears draft Calvin Ridley or Quenton Nelson? Will they trade the No. 8 pick? - Chicago Tribune - The Tribune’s Brad Biggs answers your questions weekly.

Tidwell: 5 Reasons the Chicago Bears Should be Pissed, Fans Included - Da Bears Brothers - A lot of the Bears' players should be pissed off. Here's why that anger should drive them to start winning.

Stankevitz: From up-downs to a positive attitude, Mark Helfrich left a lasting impression on his former Oregon players - NBC Sports Chicago - Mark Helfrich left a lasting impression on his former Oregon players, a few of whom are in Mobile for the Senior Bowl this week.

Podcast: How important is the Senior Bowl to the Bears? - NBC Sports Chicago - Listen to the discussion of what the Bears can get out of the Senior Bowl, and how important this week is to them

Perez: Chicago Bears won’t raise price of season tickets in 2018 - Bears Wire - Chicago Bears president Ted Phillips issued a letter to season ticket holders confirming the price of ticket packages will not be increased

Perez: Expect Marqise Lee to grab Bears’ attention in free agency - Bears Wire - The Chicago Bears will be busy targeting wide receivers in 2018 NFL free agency, including Jacksonville's Marqise Lee

Perez: Mitchell Trubisky’s jersey sales rank among best in 2017 - Bears Wire - Chicago Bears rookie QB Mitchell Trubisky ranked in the top-30 of NFL jersey sales in 2017

Mayer: Former Bears safety Plank believes in Nagy - ChicagoBears.com - Having coached Matt Nagy in the Arena Football League with the Georgia Force, former Bears safety Doug Plank is confident that the ex-quarterback will excel as Bears head coach.

Mayer: Analysts predict who Bears will draft at No. 8 - ChicagoBears.com - The NFL Draft is still three months away, but it’s never too early to take a look at who some national analysts think the Bears could select with the No. 8 pick.

Finley: From Oswego HS backup to Div. III star, Michael Joseph's journey expands to NFL - Chicago Sun-Times - When Michael Joseph cut his own Oswego High School highlight reel, he didn’t overlay it with the typical pounding hip-hop beat - or any music at all.

Mayer: Will Lewis hurt Urlacher's chances? - ChicagoBears.com - Senior writer Larry Mayer discusses whether Ray Lewis being on the ballot will hurt Brian Urlacher's chances of making the Hall of Fame, the addition of offensive line coach Harry Hiestand and why the Bears didn't wait until this year to draft a quarterback.

Gandia: Senior Bowl – Focus On Chicago Bears Potential Prospect Brett Toth – Bears Barroom - Brett Toth is a football player. Watching the Army grad block defensive linemen and linebackers at this week’s Senior Bowl practices you can see that he has the traits to become a quality NFL offensive lineman.

Emily: Five Things the Bears Can Learn From the Patriots - Da Bears Blog - The Patriots are back in the Super Bowl for the eighth time in the Brady/Belichick era, and unless the Eagles play absolutely lights out and/or Brady gets legitimately injured and Hoyer has to play, they’re likely going to be lifting up their sixth Lombardi. Love them, hate them, every single football fan would kill to have their team be even half as successful as the Patriots have been these past 16 seasons. So with that in mind, what lessons can our beloved Chicago Bears take from the Patriots as they seek to build their own winning franchise?

Plocher: 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl Day 2 recap - NFL Draft news and analysis - Pro Football Focus - PFF's Jordan Plocher examines the second full day of practice at the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl, highlighting specific moments that stood out and showcasing our exclusive PFF grades for the day.

Chichester: Key stats on PFF's top 15 impending free agents - Pro Football Focus - As the free agency period looms, PFF Analyst Mark Chichester details key stats from the top 15 impending free agents from our first ever PFF Free Agency Guide.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Greenstein: What will the XFL sequel look like? - Chicago Tribune - Does He (still) Hate Me? The XFL is coming back.

Barnwell: 2018 NFL offseason stability guide - Who's in, who's out on 2017 playoff teams - ESPN - In 2017, we saw eight new playoff teams in a 12-team field. Why? Because teams routinely look a heckuva lot different year-to-year. So here's how the Saints, Rams, Titans, Patriots, Eagles, Chiefs and Steelers could change.

KNOW THY ENEMY

2018 Packers Free Agency: Under-the-radar wide receivers whose stats impress - Acme Packing Company - Albert Wilson probably won’t be one of the hotter names in the free agent market this spring, but his numbers suggest that he should be.

Gates: No, Minneapolis ride share drivers won’t drop Eagles fans in the sticks - Daily Norseman - Honestly, you’re being stupid. Stop being stupid.

Reisman: Lions remove cornerbacks coach Tony Oden, several others from official website - Pride Of Detroit - The Lions appear to be parting with one of their best defensive coaches.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong: Where is the best place to watch the Super Bowl? - Windy City Gridiron - The Super Bowl is must-see-TV even if you aren’t a sports fan. It’s become an event, an excuse to throw a party, and an unofficial national holiday. If you like the bustle of a big get-together,...

Zeglinski: Diagnosing each member of Matt Nagy's Bears coaching staff - Windy City Gridiron - The rookie head coach in Nagy has completed his Chicago coaching staff. A breakdown of each new wrinkle.

Wiltfong & Link: Who are your favorite Senior Bowl prospects for the Bears? - Windy City Gridiron - On Lester’s latest T Formation Conversation podcast he was joined by fellow WCG writer, Andrew Link, to talk about a few of his favorite prospects at the Senior Bowl and how they might fit in with the Chicago Bears.

x160630: Success of the #8 pick - Windy City Gridiron - Let's take a look at the last 25 years of #8 draft picks. Due to the average length of an NFL career being 4 years, we are still 1 year away from analyzing the success of the 2014 draft.

WCG CONTRIBUTORS BEARS PODCASTS & STREAMS

2 Minute Drill - Website - iTunes - Andrew Link; Steven’s Streaming – Twitch – Steven Schweickert; T-Formation Conversation - Website - iTunes - Lester Wiltfong, Jr.; WCG Radio - Website - Robert Zeglinski

THE RULES

Windy City Gridiron Community Guidelines - SBNation.com - We strive to make our communities open and inclusive to sports fans of all backgrounds. The following is not permitted in comments, FanPosts, usernames or anywhere else in an SB Nation community: Comments, FanPosts or usernames that are intolerant or prejudiced; racial or other offensive epithets; Personal attacks or threats on community members; Gendered insults of any kind; Trolling; Click link for full information.

The Bear’s Den Specific Guidelines – The Bear’s Den is a place for Chicago Bears fans to discuss Chicago Bears football, related NFL stories, and general football talk. It is NOT a place to discuss religion or politics or post political pictures or memes, and any posts that do this will be deleted and the poster will be admonished. We do not allow comments posted where the apparent attempt is to cause confrontation in the community. We do not allow gender-directed humor or sexual assault jokes. The staff of WCG are the sole arbiters of what constitutes “apparent attempt to cause confrontation”. We do not allow the “calling out” of other members in any way, shape or form. Posts that do this will be deleted on sight. Bottom line, it’s fine to debate about football, but personal jabs and insults are strictly prohibited. Additionally, if you keep beating the same dead horse over and over and fail to heed a moderator’s warning to stop, you will be banned.

Click on our names to follow us on Twitter:

WCG Contributors: Jeff Berckes; Patti Curl; Eric Christopher Duerrwaechter; Kev H; Sam Householder; Jacob Infante; Andrew Link; Ken Mitchell; Steven Schweickert; Jack Silverstein; EJ Snyder; Lester Wiltfong, Jr.; Robert Zeglinski; Like us on Facebook.